History
HUMANS DANCE!
The Importance of Dancing
Spiritual, Emotional and Community Building
Throughout history, dance has been a spiritual, emotional and community building activity! It was an expression of personality and culture—an experience of freedom and creativity. Cave paintings from 40,000 years ago depict groups of people dancing wildly.
In the ancient and widespread practice of shamanism, ecstatic dance and rhythmic drumming are used to alter consciousness in spiritual practices. One of the earliest examples of this can be found in ancient Greece, where dancers would worship the Greek God Dionysus through ecstatic dancing movements. This tradition spread throughout the Mediterranean region and eventually made its way to Rome, where sacred dance became an integral part of religious ceremonies.
Ecstatic sacred dances are known also from religious traditions around the world. In her book, “Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy” Barbara Ehrenreich says that the vast majority of tribal or “small scale” cultures shared a common thread: ecstatic or trance dance. They may have exorcised either demons or stress, but whatever it was they felt a whole lot better after dancing.
For centuries, dance and movement have healed divisions in tribes and families, prepared the tribe for a battle, and been a mechanism for engaging in something meaningful and pleasurable. Dancing, movement and shaking the body have been ways many tribes members have moved collective trauma for the group.
Diverse Motives
These ritual dances carved out space for tribe members to enter a realm of communal coping, especially under challenging circumstances through contained experiences of temporary altered states of consciousness. We see this in communities all over the world, from rhythmic tribal dances in Africa to Native American drum circles to the energetic Russian Cossack dance to the strict Japanese Kabuki. Even traditional biblical text references dance as a form a worship. “Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with timbrel and harp. “
Fast forward to the present where we primarily live in an atmosphere constricted by societal norms and expectations, repressing our spiritual freedom in the process. But when we dance, we can let go of all that. We can be whoever we want to be, express ourselves in whatever way feels right in the moment, and just be free.
Ecstatic dancing is also a great way to inspire creativity and invention. Opening ourselves up to new possibilities and letting go of preconceived notions, allows us to sense new options in life as well. New passions, life purpose or different paths to enlightenment and healing become clear.
We do Ecstatic Dance for many reasons. For some, it is a way to connect with our spirit through movement. For others, it is a form of meditation or a way to achieve altered states of consciousness. But for all of us, it is permission to let go of our inhibitions and be free.